One and Another
by Shevva
Summary: Rated R for later chapters. Hermione sees Snape again, but doesnt recognise him. What will happen when she falls for him?
1. First Sight

She cast a furtive glance across the room, warm brown eyes meeting the cold blackness of a stranger. She blinked a fraction of a second away, and when she reopened her eyes, the man was gone. She searched the ballroom, the lounge, the study, to no avail. She had given up hope of finding him there, but she knew she would meet him again.  
  
There was a mysterious aura around him that captivated her. She knew not why, but found herself yearning for him. This stranger had woven his spell around her.  
  
A deadly spell.  
  
A love spell. 


	2. The Search for Recognition

She stood in the foyer, waiting for her carriage to arrive. She wished for an early departure, for the party, in her opinion, was a bore. She wished to return to her home earlier, to scour her well read books for any information on this mysterious stranger. Something about him was familiar, but she couldn't place it. She wondered if she had met him before. She shrugged it off as an improbability, eyes like those weren't easy to forget. But the thought kept nagging in the back of her mind that perhaps she knew him from somewhere. 'Well. First things first.' She thought, as she got into her carriage. 'I must decide where to look for him.' A thought instantly crept into her mind. 'People with such an aura surrounding them are usually hiding something. Who do we know hide things?' She smiled to herself. Death Eaters.  
  
It was late August, and the summer breeze was infiltrating every part of the castle. Even, though much to Snape's detriment, the dungeons. He had just returned from the party being held at Abbot House, which Dumbledore had insisted he attend. 'Damn you, Miss Granger.' He said to himself, thinking back upon the events of the evening. 'You tormented me for years with your know-all attitude, and now you continue to torture me with you appearance.' He cursed the day she was sorted at Hogwarts, although secretly was pleased. Pleased that at least one of the students he had had to teach actually knew something about his chosen field. He thought of her as insufferable only for the fact that she was a Gryffindor, and her knowledge was gaining points for a rival house. Had she been sorted into Slytherin, she would have been his prize pupil. He sighed. 'I have got to stop thinking about her.' He sat down by the fireplace, and opened a bottle of Scotch. He laughed to himself. 'This Scotch will rival any mind-altering spells or potions.' 


	3. Consequence

Although the Scotch did eradicate any thoughts of her from his head, he woke up with a splitting headache. He sat up off the sofa, (where he had passed out late the night before) and stumbled to his private potions stash looking for his hangover remedy. 'Shit!' he thought, as he realised he was all out. Thoughts of the previous evening's party rose unbidden in his mind, and he found them incredibly hard to push away. He walked slowly to the bathroom, where he had a very hot shower. The hot water seemed to clear his head to an extent, but he knew that he would not be able to concentrate on teaching in his hung-over state. He dressed himself in his trademark black robes, and exited his rooms. He hastily made his way to the infirmary to retrieve some hangover potion from Madame Pomfrey. He was halfway there when he was stopped by Dumbledore.  
  
"Severus. Good to see you up and about." The headmasters cheery voice rung out through the hallways. Snape groaned.  
  
"Good morning, Albus." He said civilly, although his tone impled he definitely did not wish to have a 'chat' with the headmaster in his current state.  
  
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" asked Dumbledore.  
  
"To the infirmary." Replied Snape, giving no indication as to why.  
  
"Very well. Could you meet me in my office after breakfast, please Severus? I wish to discuss the goings on of last night."  
  
"Very well, Headmaster." He turned on is heel and made his way to the infirmary, leaving the headmaster smiling knowingly at his hastily retreating back.  
  
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When she woke up the next morning, she patted her cat and poured herself a cup of coffee. She was going to need to enlist the help of an old friend to discover who the 'mystery man' was. 


	4. The First Step

After she had bathed and dressed for the day, she wandered over to the fireplace, and retrieved her box of Floo powder. She threw a handful of the powder onto the bricks, shouting "Harry Potter's flat!" she stepped into the green flames and disappeared.  
  
Since graduation, Harry had gone on to become and Auror, as had Ron. Harry passed Auror training at the top of the grade, with Ron falling just behind him. Now, the two of them lived all of five minutes apart, and were inseparable. Neither of them had heard from Hermione in a long time though, and were beginning to worry about her welfare. The two of them were sitting in Harry's living room playing chess and discussing her, when they heard the sound of flames coming from the fireplace in the kitchen. Ron and Harry, realising that the noise was made from someone entering the apartment via the Floo network, held their wands at the ready. Ron got up, and cautiously made his way into the kitchen, with Harry not far behind him. He was preparing himself for the worst when he looked around the corner to see Hermione standing there dusting herself off.  
  
"Hermione!" he shouted, clearly surprised yet pleased to see her.  
  
"Ron. How are you?" she asked, rushing over to hug him.  
  
"I'm fine." He said, returning the hug.  
  
"Where's Harry?" she asked, pulling away from Ron. Harry stepped out from around the corner.  
  
"I'm right here." He walked over to her for his hug. "So, Herm, long time, no see." He smiled.  
  
"I know, I've just been do busy, y'know?" she smiled back.  
  
"Yeah." Replied Ron, who had grabbed her arm and ushered her over to the couch.  
  
Harry sat down on the seat opposite them, and conjured up three cups of coffee. "So, after all this time - how long has it been now?" Harry started.  
  
"Two years." Said Ron.  
  
"Right, after two years, what can we do for you, Hermione?" asked Harry in his 'official' voice.  
  
"I missed you guys. I wanted to see how you were. I figured if you weren't going to call me, I might as well come to see you." She replied, rather shocked by his tone of voice.  
  
Harry's tone cracked. "Fair enough." He replied normally. "Good to see you. Herm."  
  
She smiled. Ron inquired, "So is there anything that you need any help with, Herm? Any current adventures we're missing out on?"  
  
"Well," she said slyly, "Now that you mention it.." and she started to tell them about the mystery man from the party. All the while thinking, 'This is the first step to finding out who he is.' She smiled to herself as she relayed her tale to her two best friend in the world. 


	5. A Warning and A Thought

A W?RNInG ANd a THoUGhT "And so, now, I'm trying to find out who he is." She concluded. They had listened to her story intently, and now she wanted some feedback from them. She had little hope that they would know who it was offhand, although she had hope that together they would be able to find out who he was.  
  
"You think he might be a Death Eater?" asked Ron. "Why would you think that?"  
  
"It was just the way he seemed. You know? Dark and mysterious. Like he was hiding something."  
  
Ron looked at Harry, who was deep in thought. "What do you think Harry?"  
  
Harry didn't answer for a moment, as if he hadn't heard the question. Just as Ron was going to ask again, he began.  
  
"I don't like it. I think Hermione's right. He sounds like a Death Eater. But I don't think that's a good thing to any stretch of the imagination. Whoever it is could be watching her."  
  
"Hang on a minute!" Hermione immediately jumped to the 'mystery man's' defence. "I don't think he was following me. We just saw each other. It was purely coincidental."  
  
"Come one, Hermione. You're not exactly unknown to the Death Eaters. You have been instrumental in destroying their leaders numerous times. And being friends with me and Ron doesn't help your reputation either. I think you should be careful. Whoever this guy is, he could be on orders from Voldemort to be following you."  
  
Hermione immediately found herself becoming angry. "Look. I came here to see if you knew who he was. Not so that you could give me a lecture on how vulnerable I am!"  
  
Ron quickly jumped in to calm her down. "Calm down, Hermione. We're only suggesting that you should be cautious. You know that what Harry is saying is possible. We're only throwing out all the possibilities. It may turn out that he isn't following you. He might be your long-lost brother. He might want a shag. He could want to offer you a job selling fish. We don't know. But we just eant you to be careful. We don't want you to get hurt. In any way."  
  
"Fair enough. But if he wants me to sell fish he can get stuffed." She smiled.  
  
"Okay. If I see him I'll tell him that." Ron laughed.  
  
"So." Said Harry. "If we are trying to find out who he is, we had better get started. Ron where do you think would be the best place to start?"  
  
"Um, I think the Ministry library has a list of known Death Eaters." Ron said.  
  
"The Ministry library? Can you two get into there?" asked Hermione, suddenly interested in the prospect of another library to explore. True, she had moved on from her 'schoolgirl bookworm' image, but she still loved books. Hours literally melted away whilst she was engulfed in a new novel or textbook.  
  
"Yeah, we can get in there. We have passes. You can come in with us, y'know?" said Harry.  
  
Hermione smiled. That had been what she was hoping for.  
  
"Let's get going then."  
  
"TWENTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR! Mr. Capriati, if you cannot even complete a potion as simple as this one, without an accident of colossal proportions, then I suggest you stop trying and wrecking this classroom!"  
  
Snape was in one of his famous 'moods.' Strange though, how easily he slid form one mood to the next. Although it was easier for him, since he had only two moods: bad and really bad.  
  
"I'm -I'm sorry, P-p-professor Snape." Said Caleb Capriati, a second year Gryffindor. When he had started at Hogwarts the year before, he had been a confident child. Although a year and a half of Snape's potions classes, had reduced this boy to a stuttering wreck. Truth be told, he was fairly dim- witted. Caleb was rather like a Neville Longbottom for the new millennium. Whenever Caleb was in his classroom, Snape was constantly reminded of the stupidity of his past student. And then, consecutively, the brilliance of his other know-it-all students. Incidentally, it was this student, that he was recently trying so hard to forget.  
  
"Class dismissed! Get out of here before I have you all cleaning this up! Without magic!" Snape yelled. The class, naturally was eager to comply swiftly. Within thirty seconds, the potions classroom was empty, except for the reserved potions master, whose heavy breathing now echoed off the walls. He took a second to calm himself, then with a 'silly wave of his wand' cleared the mess that Caleb Capriati and his classmates had left. He retreated to his office, and practically fell into the chair behind his desk.  
  
Sitting on the desk were piles of ungraded homework. Realising that the grading had to be finished before dinner, he sighed, and reluctantly reached for his marking quill to complete the work that he was way overdue on. He allowed himself one thought of her before he began, thinking about how he used to have to mark her work, and how irritated he was when he had to give her full marks on everything. He smiled, very uncharacteristically, and got to work. 


	6. The Search Begins

Hermione paused as they entered the Ministry Library. She gasped at the sheer magnificence of it.  
  
"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "This puts the Hogwarts Library to shame."  
  
"That it does, my dear." Came a familiar voice from behind her. She quickly spun around to see who was addressing her such. Much to her delight, it was Albus Dumbledore that was standing behind her, regarding her with the same expression of elation that one would always adopt when unexpectedly meeting a old friend.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore! How wonderful to see you." She smiled at him. He smiled back, his eyes glittering with the warmth that she had grown accustomed to as a student.  
  
"Miss Granger, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. Here I was, thinking that this was to be another boring trip to the Ministry, when here I see one of my most eager and friendly past pupils."  
  
"I'm glad to see that you still look upon my school years with such good memories. Would I be out of line to ask what it is you are doing here?" she ventured, trying to find some common ground on which they could talk. She had always found 'small talk' an annoying and often embarrassing topic to talk about.  
  
"No, of course not. However, unfortunately time constraints will not allow me to spend too much time here speaking with you." The volume of his voice dropped to a level that only she could hear. "However, there are some things I believe I need to speak with you about. Is there any possibility of setting up a meeting in the next day or so?"  
  
She looked at him, as if trying to gauge the severity of the need to speak to her from the expression on his face. As usual, his expression gave away nothing other than hope.  
  
"Certainly, Professor. If you like, I could visit you at Hogwarts and we can talk."  
  
"That would be wonderful." His volume once again returned to a normal level. "Perhaps you could visit us this evening, and stay for dinner. I am certain that the other teachers would enjoy your company."  
  
"Very well. I will see you this evening then, Professor Dumbledore." She smiled kindly.  
  
"I shall look for ward to it then, my dear. Good afternoon Miss Granger." He smiled at her once again, and made his way past her and out the exit.  
  
She walked past the front desk, flashing the security pass that Ron had lent her earlier in the day. She needed this pass to retrieve information on Dark Magic or Death Eaters. She wandered into the Dark magic section, where she was stopped by a burly security guard with red eyes.  
  
"I need to see some ID, ma'am, before I can let you in here." She showed him the security pass. "I'm sorry, but that's not gonna cut it. Need some ID. This is a pass."  
  
She began to rummage through her bag for her purse. 'Maybe my apparition licence will suffice.' She thought. Just when she had manage to remove it from her bag, a very flustered looking Arthur Weasley made his way out form behind one of the bookshelves in the Dark magic section. He rushed over to Hermione, grabbing her arm and pulling her past the guard.  
  
"That's okay, Manny. She's with me." Said Arthur. The guard, Manny, grunted and disappeared behind a wall.  
  
"Hermione, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Y'know. Just looking for a bit of information." She replied, with a curt smile.  
  
"How did you get in here?" she showed him the pass that Ron had given her. "Ah. Ron. I could've guessed. I don't suppose there is any chance that you'll tell me what you're looking for?" he looked doubtful. She smiled, but shook her head.  
  
"Classified." She answered, beginning to browse around the shelves, quickly locating what she needed.  
  
As if that one word answer was all he needed, Arthur Weasley bade her good afternoon, and walked out, making hastily for the apparition area. He needed to speak with his son about allowing others to use his security pass.  
  
Whilst he was doing this, Hermione was setting up a spot at a table with her newfound reference. She opened the weighty tome, only just beginning to realise how far Voldemort's reach was. She quickly located the contents page, seeing the many categories that Death Eaters could be classified into. They were mostly the kind of classes related to location. She located and opened the book to the section on Death Eaters in England, and began her search for the 'mystery man.' 


	7. More To Think About

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise doesn't belong to me, unfortunately. I just play around with JK's stuff.  
  
A/N: I want to thank the people that have been reviewing this story. Your support does help! In response to a few, I will try to make some of the future chapters a bit longer. Keep reading and reviewing!  
  
Now, onto the story!  
  
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Immediately after Dumbledore left the Ministry, he remembered that he had asked Snape to meet him in his office. 'Damn. I forgot about Severus. Hopefully he's not in a foul mood.' Dumbledore hoped, but didn't think it was likely that Snape would be patiently waiting for him. He apparated to Hogsmeade, and went back to his office via the Hogwarts-Hogsmeade Floo network. He opened the door to his office, not at all surprised to see Snape standing there, arms crossed, with the trademark Snape sneer occupying his facial features.  
  
"Please, Albus. If we can just get this over and done with. I have other matters demanding my attention." Snape stormed past him in his usual, 'don't-piss-me-off' manner. Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle at the predicability of Snape's reaction.  
  
"Yes, Severus, of course. I'm not going to go on with a great speech about how much more work is expected of you this year, alright? I think, and I hope, that you are smart enough to realise why."  
  
Snape sighed. He was sick of talking to Dumbledore about Voldemort. "Yes, Albus. I realise that the war is going to break out some time in the next year. And yes, Albus, I know that I'm going to have a lot more work to deal with." He hated the way that Dumbledore made him feel like he was a child.  
  
"Well then, Severus, you would also have realised, that for some reason or another, our class sizes have gone up. So your workload is increased again. So, Minerva and I have decided that we are going to hire three new staff members to take on a few classes. We are going to have an Assistant Charms Professor, an Assistant Transfiguration Professor, and-." Snape cut him off.  
  
"And I'm getting saddled with an Assistant, am I?" He already knew the answer to this question, but Dumbledore nodded anyway. "Wonderful." His tone was icy cold and dripping with sarcasm. He stood up, ready to leave. "Do inform me when they arrive. I shall be waiting for them with tea and cakes." Dumbledore laughed.  
  
"That's the spirit, Severus." Laughter was, in Albus's opinion, the best way to deal with Snape's 'sarcastic attacks'. Snape walked out of the Headmasters office, thoroughly displeased.  
  
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Hermione had gone through the book, and had narrowed it down to a list of 12 possibilities. Looking up, she realised that dark was descending, and that she would have to make haste if she was going to reach Hogwarts by nightfall. She packed up her parchment and her quill-and-ink, returned the book to the shelf, and walked out. She reached the safe apparition zone, made sure she had her bag, and apparated to Hogsmeade. She Flooed to the Hogwarts Library. It seemed like the perfect place for her to go to. Not too many students. She did not want to draw unnecessary attention to herself, for she didn't know what Albus wanted her for. She Dusted herself off, and exited the library, making her way hurriedly down the hall to the Headmaster's office. 


	8. An Offer

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to JK. Anything you don't recognise is mine.  
  
A/N: Thanx to MaeveMalfoy and Ponine and all the rest for their support. Keep Reading and Reviewing!  
  
On with the story!  
  
Her pace increasing, as she walked down the hall, she began wondering why Dumbledore would want to speak with her. 'Maybe he needs me to fill in for one of the teachers for a while. Maybe it's got to do with Voldemort.' She reached the door to his office. The gargoyle said "Do go upstairs, he is waiting for you." She thanked the gargoyle, and it began to rise up, allowing her access to the stairs.  
  
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"You want me to what?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"I want you to come back here as Potions Assistant." Replied Dumbledore, with a glint in his eye.  
  
"And have to work with Sn-, uh, Professor Snape?" Whilst the prospect of working with Hogwarts' most feared teacher didn't appeal to her, the thought that he was a Death Eater, strangely enough, did. She thought that he would know, more than anyone else, who the 'mystery man' was. She smiled at the Headmaster.  
  
"I'll do it."  
  
Dumbledore smiled back. "Excellent. Miss Granger, uh, Hermione. After dinner, Minerva will show you to your new rooms. You will of course, be allowed to go back to your apartment and get your belongings."  
  
"Wonderful." Said Hermione. Dumbledore stood up, and offered his arm to Hermione.  
  
"Then, let us go to the Great Hall. Dinner is to begin soon." Hermione linked her arm through his, and they set off for dinner.  
  
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When they arrived, most of the students and staff members were already seated. Dumbledore led her up to the Staff table. He took his seat in the middle, and the only seat left was in between Hagrid and Professor Trelawny.  
  
"Hermione! How wonderful ta see yer. How are yeh?"  
  
"I'm good, Hagrid. How are you?"  
  
"Not too bad. Mind yeh, I've been havin' a bit o' trouble with one o' me Horpigs."  
  
Hermione looked confused, then quickly recalled that a Horpigs was an animal that was a cross between a pig and a horse. They had the 'fur' of a horse, but it was pink, like a pig. They were the size of a Shetland pony, with a pig's tail and a horses face. They had the tendency to roll in mud, like pigs, and they kick out their back lags when agitated, like a horse.  
  
"Oh? Whats the problem?" she asked, as the food magically appeared on the table before them.  
  
"Well, she's pregnant, but, I don't think its ter one o' the other Horpigs." He looked worried.  
  
She asked the obvious question. "What is she pregnant to, then?"  
  
He definitely looked worried. "Uhm, I think its ter one o' me Hippogriffs."  
  
"Oh. That's pretty bad."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Maybe you should turn her over to the Ministry."  
  
"Are yeh kiddin? They'd kill her and the pups! I've got ta keep her meself.  
  
Look, I need someone ter magic a special pen for her and the pups, but I cant do it. And I don't think that anyone else'd be willin ter help me."  
  
She looked down at her plate. "Sure Hagrid. I'll help you." She began eating.  
  
"Thanks Hermione."  
  
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Snape looked down the teachers table to where Hermione was sitting.  
  
'What's she doing here?' he wondered. Then, realisation dawned on him. 'Oh, shit. She's my new assistant.' He looked at Dumbledore, with suspicion written all over his face. Surely Dumbledore knew what Snape thought of her? 'What are you up to, old man?' As if he knew that Snape was watching him, Dumbledore turned to face him.  
  
"Severus, can I speak to you after dinner, please?" Snape's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. Dumbledore smiled. "Good."  
  
'No doubt he'll be informing me that my Assistant has arrived. Wonderful.' 


	9. And So It Begins

After Hermione finished her dinner, Minerva McGonagall walked her down to her rooms.  
  
"I'm sorry that your rooms have to be in the dungeons, but considering as you're the new Assistant Potions Professor, we thought it would be best if you were near the Potions classroom."  
  
"I understand. Professor-, Minerva, you've been teaching for a while now, and I trust you, so I have no problems in telling you that I am a bit nervous. I know absolutely nothing about teaching."  
  
Minerva smiled. "Maybe you don't know much about teaching, but you'll learn. I wouldn't worry too much. You know a lot about Potions, which is really the most important part. All the rest will fall into place. Even Albus and I started out as Assistant teachers once. And if you have any trouble, you know that I would be more than happy to help you." Hermione smiled, feeling more at ease knowing that she could still rely on Minerva if necessary.  
  
"Thank-you. It's your support that means everything to me." They reached a door. Minerva opened it and motioned for Hermione to enter. The room was rather plain, with dark blue walls and a stone floor. Hermione made a mental note to fix it up once she had brought her stuff here.  
  
"But there is one thing that I must help you with." Minerva said. "No doubt, as you were once a student here, you now about how Severus - that's Professor Snape- deals with disputes. I suggest you stay on your toes. Don't let him have any reason to discourage you. You may be working 'for' him, but you are still working 'with' him. I think Albus has spoken to him about this too."  
  
"Thank-you, Minerva. I shall keep that in mind when dealing with him." She then added in hushed tones, "Is there anything else you can tell me about him?" Minerva smiled, the curiosity she remembered from her favourite student resurfacing.  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is. Um, perhaps we ought to sit down." Minerva walked into Hermione's new rooms, and shut the door. They sat down in two overstuffed armchairs by the fireplace. Hermione waved her wand at the empty fireplace, and lit a fire. Minerva conjured up some tea.  
  
"I know that you know about Severus being a spy. I also know that he is being summoned by You-Know-Who more often lately. It is not commonly known that Severus hates Poppy Pomfrey. He makes potions for her, but he refuses to go to the infirmary when he is ill. You-Know-, Lord Voldemort regularly uses crucio on Severus. It's a game for him, to watch people suffer. And it seems that he particularly likes watching our Potions professor suffer. The last four times that he has come back, Albus and I had to bring him back to health, because he was absolutely adamant, even in his weakened state, about not going to Poppy." Minerva offered a cup of tea to Hermione, who took it, then poured one for herself.  
  
"So what your saying is, that if, no, when he next gets called, I have to keep an eye out for him, help him recover and take over his classes for the time he is unwell." Hermione took a sip of her tea.  
  
"Yes. If it is too much for you to cope with, Albus or I will help you, but we know that you did a preliminary healing class didn't you?" Minerva took a long sip of her tea.  
  
"Yes, at University. I took MediMagic as a minor subject, and Potions as my major."  
  
Minerva smiled. "Now do you see why Albus hired you?"  
  
"Because I fit his needs exactly. I fit the job description."  
  
"Indeed. Well, I'd best be going. You have to collect you thing from your apartment. Oh, and in case you didn't know, staff members can apparate to anywhere on the ground and to Hogsmeade."  
  
"We can?" Minerva vanished the tea set and began to walk towards the door.  
  
"Yes. Goodnight, Hermione."  
  
"Goodnight, Minerva. Thank-you for your help. And don't worry, I'll look after Professor Snape."  
  
"I know you will." Minerva left the room and closed the door behind her. She instantly wanted to try to apparate to Hogsmeade. She closed her eyes, and willed herself to be in the main street of Hogsmeade. She felt that familiar 'dropping' feeling in her stomach, and when she opened her eyes, she was in Hogsmeade. 'Cool.' She thought. All of the shops were closed, although The Three Broomsticks wasn't. So she went inside, and used their fireplace to Floo back to her apartment. 


	10. The Beginning of A Disaster

Hermione landed with a crash in the fireplace at her old apartment. She dusted herself off, and went looking for her suitcase. She remembered that her bags were still in the cupboard from when she moved into the apartment. She opened the cupboard door and reached for the light switch. Strangely enough, she couldn't find it. She instantly thought it must have moved, but equally as instantly dismissed that thought, because it was a Muggle apartment. She took a step inside the room and crashed through the floor with a loud 'Crunch!' of the collapsing floorboards.  
  
'Help! Can anybody hear me?!' She reached into her left pocket for her wand. She looked around her. She was in some strange sort of room. She looked up at the gaping hole in the ceiling, and saw her wand, sitting on the edge of the hole.  
  
'Oh well. I guess now is as good a time to practice wandless magic as any.' She extended her hand upward towards the wand. 'ACCIO WAND!'  
  
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Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, reading through the Daily Prophet, when there came a knock at the door. Without looking up, he called out, 'Come in, Severus.' The door swung open and in stalked the imposing Potions Master.  
  
'Yes, Albus? You wished to speak with me?'  
  
'I did. Please take a seat.' Snape sighed, and was tempted not to follow the instruction, but soon thought the better of it. Dumbledore saw the glimmer of irritation in his eyes.  
  
'I take it you know why you are here, Severus. And furthermore I take it you do not like the reason why.'  
  
'Need I even reply?' remarked Snape, as feisty as ever.  
  
'So you do not want to have Miss Granger as an Assistant.'  
  
'Obviously.'  
  
'Why not? She is more than capable of doing the job.'  
  
'I know why you have hired her. Assistant Potions Professor is just a fancy name for the job you really have her here for.'  
  
'And what job is that, Severus?'  
  
'Don't pretend you don't know, because I certainly know. You've hired her as my bloody caretaker! You don't think I'm capable of looking after myself after a summons.'  
  
'You're wrong there, Severus. I know that you aren't capable of looking after yourself after a summons. And its getting to the stage where even Madam Pomfrey can't help you. But I think Miss Granger can.'  
  
'Why her?'  
  
'Because she has experience in this area, she's intelligent, she'd be able to cope with seeing you in a terrible condition -'  
  
'Give me the real reason. I'm not a three-year-old. I can tell when you are keeping something from me. Why her?'  
  
Dumbledore sighed. An uneasy silence rested in the air around them. Finally, as if much consideration had gone into the answer, Dumbledore spoke.  
  
'Because I know, Severus.' 


	11. More Problems Arising

It didn't work. Hermione had never felt the need to question her abilities before, but after four unsuccessful tries to get her wand, she was beginning to doubt how powerful she was.  
  
'Shit!' she thought. 'How long am I going to be stuck here before someone hears me? HELP!'  
  
'I'll help you little girl.' A silken, disturbing voice came from behind her. She whirled around to see who it was. 'Oops. Too slow. I'm over here now.' Once again the voice came from behind her. She recognised the voice from having heard it somewhere before, but she found that she couldn't place the owner. She felt something brush against the back of her neck, then again across the back of her knees. She turned, and saw a tall dark imposing figure wearing a black Deatheater's cloak. The face was hooded and she couldn't see who it was. She looked up at the whole, her only possible escape.  
  
'ACCIO WAND!!!' once again, her efforts were in vain.  
  
'Looking for this, little girl?' the figure moved and removed her wand from a fold in his cloak. In a rush of movement he threw her wand to the ground and apparated the two of them out of there, giving her only enough time to call for help one last time.  
  
................................ Remus Lupin, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, was walking down the corridor, past the Potions classroom when he heard a loud groan, followed by a crash. He drew his wand and rushed into the classroom to find Snape sitting on the floor, propped up by the wall, clutching his left arm fiercely.  
  
'Severus. Are you alright?' asked Remus, rushing to Snape's side.  
  
'I'm fine. Just wonderful. I just love being in agony like this.' His voice, although strained with pain, was still dripping with sarcasm, which Remus chose to ignore.  
  
'Do you want me to get Albus?'  
  
'No. Just tell him that I've gone.'  
  
Snape was gone before Remus could agree.  
  
................................. He ran down the hallways, up and down staircases, through doors, his legs protesting to the onslaught of hurrying through such a varied track. He reached the Headmaster's office and began to bang on the door.  
  
'Albus! Albus let me in! I must speak with you.' Upon hearing Remus's urgent tones, Albus opened the door, and Remus rode the Gargoyle Stairs up to the office. He walked in to find Ron Weasley sitting at the Headmaster's desk.  
  
'What can I do for you Remus? Would you care for a toffee?'  
  
'No, Headmaster. Severus has gone. He's been -'  
  
'Summoned, yes I know.'  
  
'How do you know? Did he tell you?' Remus asked, his pulse and worry dropping a bit.  
  
'No, but five minutes ago I received a cry for help from someone who had been taken by Deatheaters.'  
  
'As did I. But I'm not sure who it was.' Piped up Ron, with a clouded look of worry on his face. He stood up and walked over to Albus and Remus.  
  
'Who did they take?' Asked Remus, fearing the answer.  
  
'Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger.'  
  
While Remus watched with wide eyes, Ron fainted dead to the floor. 


	12. Meet and Be Ordered by Evil

Severus knelt before his Dark Master. 'My Lord, what do you wish of me?'

Voldemort chuckled. 'Arise, Severus. Why do you always assume that I want something of you? Perhaps I just wish to indulge in your company.'

Severus stood. 'Whatever you wish, master.'

'Actually, Severus, I do require your assistance in one small matter. I need you to prepare me a potion. That is, after all, what you do best.'

'Of course, master. Anything.'

'I need you to prepare a special truth serum. Somewhat like Veritaserum, except that it would allow the drinker to lie, yet it would cause them immeasurable pain. I require it for interrogation of a hostage. Could you do this for me?'

'Of course, master. It would require some Veritaserum, and the best way of causing pain would be via a nerve degenerative potion.'

'Good, Severus. I see you have not lost your touch.'

'Although, my lord, a nerve degenerative potion would need to be tailored specifically to the drinker's nervous system to allow it to work only when they lie.'

'So you would require access to the hostages. Very well. Lucius!'

A tall, dark figure emerged from the shadows. 'Yes, master?' he knelt before Voldemort, then quickly arose.

'Take Severus to the dungeons. He needs to obtain samples from the hostages.'

Severus' head snapped up. 'My lord, I believe I havent been clear enough. A nerve degenerative potion like the one you require will need testing, observation and so forth. Is there no way we could transport these hostages to my private lab?' asked Severus innocently.

'Right underneath Dumbledore's nose? I do not think so. I am surprised you think that it would be possible. Are you suggesting something about Old Albus' health?'

'No, my lord, unfortunately I am not. Perhaps I can take a sample of the hostages' blood and then take it back to my lab. I could begin preparation there and perhaps administer and observe here before and during your questioning.'

'Hmm. I think that is the best plan. Lucius, take Severus to the dungeons.'

'Yes master.' They both bowed to Voldemort, and headed for the dungeons.  
  
They walked on through the underground labyrinth, thier footsteps echoing off the stone walls and their breaths steady. Lucius paused in front of a large oak door.

'What are you going to do to them, Severus? They are only little girls after all.'

'Probably a lot less than you've already done to them, Lucius.'

'I haven't done anything. The master prohibited me from touching them.'

'I'll bet you got a good look though.'

'But of course. I'm not that stupid. What has he given leave for you to do to them?'

'I'm only going to take some of their blood.'

'Ooh. Bloodplay. Can I watch?'

'No you may not. And I can find my own way out, Lucius. Now open the door.'  
  
Lucius chuckled and opened the door. Severus brushed past him and entered the room, and tried hard not to bat an eyelid, when he saw Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, lying naked and unconscious on a medical table in the centre of the room.


End file.
